UPDATE: Deportation Heritage Minute shot in Annapolis Valley debuts on National Acadian Day

A Heritage Minute telling the story of the Acadian Deportation that was shot last summer at Heustis Beach outside Canning and at the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens debuts on Aug. 15, National Acadian Day. HISTORICA CANADA

Historica Canada production includes many cast, crew of Acadian descent

KENTVILLE, N.S. —

He doesn’t think it could be more fitting for a Heritage Minute that tells the story of the Acadian Deportation to be released on National Acadian Day.

The Historica Canada Acadian Deportation Heritage Minute, which was shot last summer at Heustis Beach outside of Canning and at the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens, makes its debut on Aug. 15, the Acadian national holiday. Past President of The Historical Association of Annapolis Royal Alan Melanson said this is the date he would have chosen.

Shot from the perspective of a mother, the vignette tells the story of the 1755 expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia by the British. More than 10,000 Acadians were forcibly removed from the Maritimes as the British confiscated land and possessions.

A Heritage Minute telling the story of the Acadian Deportation that was shot last summer at Heustis Beach outside Canning and at the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens debuts on Aug. 15, National Acadian Day. HISTORICA CANADA

Many were sent to the American colonies and to England while others led resistances and fled to present day Quebec. The deportation lasted eight years. By 1763, the Acadians could return to their homeland – so long as they lived in small communities and pledged allegiance to the British Crown.

“It’s an important story but then it culminates in tragedy because war, politics and religion have done a lot over the years to upheave people and that’s what happened here, we were caught in the conflict between the British and the French for control of this area,” Melanson said.

Melanson, who is tenth-generation Acadian, is known for his Acadian Heritage Tours at the Annapolis Royal Lighthouse and Candlelight Graveyard Tours at Fort Anne National Historic Site. He was contacted prior to the shoot to help identify locations. He and his wife, Durline, are among the many actors and actresses who appear in the Heritage Minute.

Melanson said the experience helped him connect to the story and the sites involved with the expulsion. He said the production also helped him appreciate the logistics of the deportation. More than 2,200 people were deported from Grand Pre but there were many more sites involved, including Annapolis Royal- the “cradle of Acadia” - from where more than 1,600 were deported.

Melanson said having a Heritage Minute about Le Grand Derangement is important. That event and the subsequent migrations of the New England Planters and Loyalists changed the fabric of Nova Scotia from a predominantly French Catholic population to an English Protestant majority.

He said the vignette might inspire people to learn more about the story or want to connect with the physical locations involved in the expulsion.

Paul Aucoin, one of three producers of the vignette along with Ryan J. Noth and Tess Girard, composed the music for the Heritage Minute. Girard was director and Noth was editor, with both also sharing writing credits.

Aucoin has made three other Heritage Minutes with Girard and Noth, two focusing on the War of 1812 and one on Kenojuak Ashevak, which was shot in Baffin Island.

Aucoin, who lives in Petite Riviere and is eleventh-generation Acadian, said he had been lobbying for a Heritage Minute about the Acadian Deportation for five years. He is very happy to see the project come to fruition. It means a lot to him to have had a part in the production.

“I am of Acadian heritage and sadly do not speak Acadian French or live in an Acadian community,” Aucoin said. “However, that does not in any way diminish my pride and interest in the Acadian story.”

Aucoin said he enjoyed everything about the project. Preparing, doing research and scoring it was a joy, as was putting together the crew and casting so many people of Acadian descent – including his two young boys.

He said some Heritage Minutes celebrate a well-known aspect of Canadian history but with many others, the vignettes are a major component or source of popular knowledge of these events.

A Heritage Minute telling the story of the Acadian Deportation that was shot last summer at Heustis Beach outside Canning and at the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens debuts on Aug. 15, National Acadian Day. HISTORICA CANADA

Aucoin said the Acadian Deportation needed that attention. For example, the poem Evangeline by English-American Longfellow was written a long time ago, so “continued popular retellings are very important.”

He said the most challenging aspect of producing any Heritage Minute is telling such epic stories without it costing a fortune. A lot of goodwill comes the way of the Heritage Minutes, as many people give a little more time because of their legacy.

Aucoin said shooting 30 to 40 people at the beach had to be well planned and thought out, given the dramatic rise and fall of the tide and its impact on continuity. Figuring out how to burn an Acadian cottage – as happened during the deportations – also posed a challenge.

He said an incredible team, including director of photography Guy Godfree, and the “continuing magic and artistry of computer after effects” made it all possible.